Fajardo named to O’Brien Award watch list

RENO, Nev. (MyNews4.com & KRNV) -- University of Nevada senior Cody Fajardo is on the watch list for the 2014 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, the national selection committee for the award announced Wednesday.

Fajardo, a Brea, Calif., native, is back for his fourth season as a starter, is on the watch list for the second straight season. He has thrown for 7,161 yards and 39 touchdowns while rushing for 2,436 yards and 31 TDs in his career at Nevada, according to a press release from University of Nevada Associate Athletics Director.

Fajardo is one of just three players from the Mountain West Conference on the watch list for the award.

This year’s list, which was compiled by a subset of the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee, was selected based on player performance during the previous year and expectations heading into the 2014 college football season. All nominees were required to have started at least one college game previously.

Nearly half (19 of 39) of the players on the watch list are seniors. Thirteen juniors and seven sophomores round out the contingent. Among conferences, the Pac-12 leads the way with eight signal callers on the list. The Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC are all represented by five players.

Fajardo is one of only two players in the nation who has rushed for at least 30 TDs and passed for at least 30 TDs in his career. He has the third-highest career completion percentage among the nation’s returning quarterbacks (67.8 percent) and the second-most rushing yards among returning QBs. Fajardo has the fewest interceptions (18) among any returning quarterback with at least 6,500 passing yards.